Tanzania's Inflation Rate Climbs to 11-Month High of 8%

April 15 (Bloomberg) -- Tanzanias inflation rate climbed to an 11-month high of 8 percent in March as energy costs surged, the statistics office said.

Inflation accelerated from an annual 7.5 percent in February, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement released in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, today.

Energy costs jumped an annual 17 percent in March after climbing 13 percent the month before, the agency said. The benchmark price of gasoline increased 6.3 percent to 1,927 shillings ($1.28) per liter during March, according to data from the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority. Kerosene prices jumped 9.4 percent and diesel rose 3.2 percent in the same period.

Food inflation eased to 8.3 percent in March from 8.6 percent in the previous month, the agency said.